Another article in the International Herald Times today reported on the algae problem choking China's waters. The IHT says algae is covering large portions of the coastline and the Yellow Sea, potentially threatening parts of the water designated for Olympic sailing events.
"But officials in Qingdao said pollution and poor water quality did not have a "substantial link" to the current outbreak, according to Xinhua. Instead, scientists blamed the bloom on increased rainfall and warmer waters in the Yellow Sea."
However, I would like to note that algae proliferates when its environment is saturated with phosphates and nitrates, which are pollutants common in animal waste. When algae dies, it falls to the bottom of lake/sea/ocean where bacteria feeds off of it. If there is an abundance of algae, there will most certainly be an abundance of bacteria. The bacteria then depletes the lake/sea/ocean bottom of oxygen and eventually, lake/sea/ocean becomes a dead zone, an area with no oxygen levels. The lake/sea/ocean is then only an area filled with algal slime.
I don't feel like China is facing a short-term problem. I think it needs to address the larger problem of pollution and find ways to curb it now before it goes too far, which is something the US once ignored and is now coming back to haunt this country.
The situation is hard for China because it wants to put up a picture-perfect front for the Olympic Games and the thousands of tourists who will be flocking into the country. In many ways, the country's pride and image are on the line because it only has 16 days to impress the world, and once the cameras start rolling, it has to be ready.
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